China lashes out over Syria

China Saturday accused countries that oppose its position on Syria of undermining attempts to find a political solution to the conflict, after voting against a new UN resolution on the crisis.

The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly passed a resolution slamming the Security Council's failure to take strong steps to end the fighting, which UN leader Ban Ki-moon said has become a "proxy war".

Russia and China, which have vetoed three UN Security Council resolutions on Syria, were among high-profile opponents of the resolution which many diplomats said showed frustration at the lack of action on the conflict.

Wang Kejian, a senior official in the Chinese foreign ministry, attacked countries "which have made unfounded criticism of China's position on the issue of Syria".

"And these countries, in pursuit of their own geopolitical interests in Syria, are trying to hinder or even undermine the political settlement process."

"The legitimate requests and aspirations of the Syrian people for change and for safeguarding their own interests deserve respect," he added.

The assembly's resolution, which condemned President Bashar al-Assad's use of "heavy weapons" in the civil war, was passed by 133 votes with 12 countries against and 31 abstaining.

Though the resolution is not legally binding, there was increased attention on the vote after the resignation of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan and the mounting battle for the Syrian city of Aleppo.

Violence rages in Aleppo, Damascus: NGO
Aleppo, Syria (AFP) Aug 4, 2012 - Syria's armed forces pounded the rebel-held Salaheddin district of the northern city of Aleppo from the air and ground on Saturday, a rebel commander told AFP.

"It was the most violent shelling of Salaheddin since the outbreak of fighting in Aleppo" on July 20, said Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, the Free Syrian Army's military chief for the country's commercial capital.

"It is not the first time the army has tried to storm Salaheddin," Oqaidi said.

Violence also raged in the Shaar and Sukkari districts of Aleppo, an AFP correspondent in the embattled city said, adding the army had used fighter jets and artillery to strike the neighbourhoods.

Later on Saturday, regime forces also shelled the Seif al-Dawla district, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The shelling came as 78 people were killed across Syria, including at least eight in the province of Aleppo, the Observatory said. Of those killed on Saturday, 45 were civilians, 26 were regime troops and seven rebels.

In Damascus, regime forces retook Tadamun on Saturday, the last remaining rebel bastion, after heavy shelling.

A brigadier-general told AFP on condition of anonymity that regime forces retook the southern district at 2:00 pm (1100 GMT).

Violence also broke out in the Jobar area of the Syrian capital, the Observatory said, adding that violence killed at least six people in Damascus province on Saturday.

Elsewhere, 20 people were killed as regime forces shelled Deir Ezzor in eastern Syria, the monitoring group said.

"It is unclear exactly how many of them were rebels and how many civilians, but what is clear is that the regime shelled indiscriminately," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

An anti-regime activist from Deir Ezzor told AFP on condition of anonymity that the humanitarian situation in the eastern province was critical. "Many different areas are being shelled," he said.

"Doctors there are saying that the dead are gone, but the problem is now how to help the elderly and people who need medical care."

Source: http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_lashes_out_over_Syria_999.html

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